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has anyone seen the new blueant z9 headset that was announced on Monday? You can check it out at www.blueantz9.com. It is a flash website though so don't try to view it on iPhone. Cnet also reviewed it and gave an 8.3, second only to the jawbone. It has advanced noise cancellation feAtures and is small and unobtrusive, unlike the jawbone. Looks to be a solid little headset that will be available on aug 13. Unless I see or hear anything negative about it, I think I am going to pick this little guy up. Anybody have any additional thoughts?

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has anyone seen the new blueant z9 headset that was announced on Monday? You can check it out at www.blueantz9.com. It is a flash website though so don't try to view it on iPhone. Cnet also reviewed it and gave an 8.3, second only to the jawbone. It has advanced noise cancellation feAtures and is small and unobtrusive, unlike the jawbone. Looks to be a solid little headset that will be available on aug 13. Unless I see or hear anything negative about it, I think I am going to pick this little guy up. Anybody have any additional thoughts?

I checked out the video. I like the feature that it fits into your ear for better audio & a secure fit. I just emailed them suggesting that they consider making a flesh-tone colored headset. I like headsets, but why hasn`t a headset mfg tried to make one that blends to the face? It would be nice to get away from the "nerdy" look that all headsets have.

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I checked out the video. I like the feature that it fits into your ear for better audio & a secure fit. I just emailed them suggesting that they consider making a flesh-tone colored headset. I like headsets, but why hasn`t a headset mfg tried to make one that blends to the face? It would be nice to get away from the "nerdy" look that all headsets have.

Just got this reply from Blue Ant:As we are based in Canada we have been unable to get out hands on an iPhone yet to test the Z9 with, however, I can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be compatible.

To be honest, I don’t know why no-one has thought of making a flesh-colored ear-piece. But I wouldn’t worry about looking ‘nerdy’. Nerdy is the new black and as such most ear-pieces are black. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle really.

Sort of a BS answer for the flesh-colored ear-piece! Im going to order the Z9 as soon as its released. I will report back on how well it works with the iPhone.

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Just got this reply from Blue Ant:As we are based in Canada we have been unable to get out hands on an iPhone yet to test the Z9 with, however, I can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be compatible.

To be honest, I don’t know why no-one has thought of making a flesh-colored ear-piece. But I wouldn’t worry about looking ‘nerdy’. Nerdy is the new black and as such most ear-pieces are black. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle really.

Sort of a BS answer for the flesh-colored ear-piece! Im going to order the Z9 as soon as its released. I will report back on how well it works with the iPhone.

The Z9 arrived packaged very well. In fact, it was packaged a little too well. When I tried to take the headset off its stand inside the box it was difficult. There is a little rubber band wrapped around the headset & its stand. It was difficult to see the rubber band when trying to pull off the headset from its stand. No instructions on how to remove it so I carefuly pulled off the rubber band not knowing if it was part of the headset. BlueAnt said that they were working on clarifying that detail. If you get one, just cut the little rubber band.

Below is a pic of what you receive: The manual, quick start manual, wall charger, headset, USB cord, & 2 extra ear clips. First inspection of the clear plastic ear clips looked as though they would bread easy. They are not. They are made out of Polycarbonate & are pretty much unbreakable.

Putting on the headset takes a little getting used to. You insert the headset in your ear then swivel the ear clip around your ear. It take a few times to get used to it. The fit is very solid. I shook my head hard & it didn`t move at all. Its so light that after awhile you forget you are wearing it. I wore it for 9 hours with no discomfort.

It took less than 2 hours to charge up the headset out of the box. It seems to hold its charge for quite awhile. No problems after my 9 hrs of continious wear although I didn`t make many calls. When you power up the headset, & its on standby, it double blue flashed every few seconds. You can turn this off thankfully as it drove me crazy walking around with it flashing all the time. The volume up/down buttons are on the top of the headset are easy to access. The large multi-function on/off button on the side is also easily accessed. When ending a call by pressing the multi-function button, you get a voice message, "voice isolation max" followed by a "beep" that ends the call. This is normal & when the next call is received, it automatically switches back to its normal mode.

Voice isolation: This feature makes this headset stand out above all other headsets! Whenever you are in a call, you can push the multi-function button & get a "voice isolation max" or "voice isolation standard" message to isolate your voice in noisy environments. When testing the headset driving my boat with wind blowing around my face, there was a muffleing affect of my voice as I talked on both isolation modes. I didn`t try to change my head direction to see if it made a difference & I need to do further testing. Wind is a tough test for any headset. Now the big test! I sat on my Sears gas riding mower & ran it at its normal speed & then made a call. Normally I have to stop the mower to hear someone right next to the mower. When I made the call in standard mode I could hear the caller with no problem. The caller said he could here me but there was a lot of background noise from the mower. I then switched to "voice isolation max" & the caller said there was an 80% reduction in background noise! Very impressive! Try that with your headset!

Conclusion: This headset is a keeper! Works great & is easily paired with the iPhone. All voice communications were clear & without any static. BlueAnt support was quick & very supportive if you have questions.

I can only compare this headset to the Motorala H 850 & H700 which I have had & the Z9 is far better than both the Motorala`s. Below is pic comparison of the Z9 & a Motorala H 700.

Edit: I forgot to add that the Z9 bluetooth signal strength is great! unobstructed view was 45 ft & within a room 30ft.

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I was really excited receiving the headset so quickly. Even moreso to test this thing out. After Gadget Guy's review, I thought that this headset was going to be the answer to all my initial problems with headsets. Sound clarity for received/originating calls and size. The most important feature for me would be overall sound clarity.

I received it Saturday and charged it up over night.

Had the fan going in my room and the TV at normal volume levels watching the US kick Argentina's ass in basketball!

My girlfriend was the guinea pig on the other line. Put on the BlueAnt and fired it up. As the call connected, I noticed some popping and crackling similar to the Blackberry Plantronics 655. Uh-oh... My girlfriend picked up and, sure enough, she said that the voice quality was not on par with the Jawbone. The crackling and popping were almost non-existent with the Jawbone.

Time to start testing the voice isolation feature. I switched it up to "Voice Isolation max". Started up some music running on iTunes at a normal volume level. She did not notice a change from max to standard voice isolation. She could hear the music at both settings.

BUILD QUALITY - Overall quality was acceptable. Compared to the Jawbone, the BlueAnt looked like a toy. Although the Jawbone was bigger, it truly looked more like a piece of art when placed side-by-side. The multi-function button (MFB) is a lot easier to operate than the Jawbone on/off button. Where the Jawbone requires a firm press, the BlueAnt requires less effort.

Packaging was excellent. That rubber band that Gadget Guy mentioned was hidden pretty well. Thanks to him, I knew to release it before yanking the headset from it's stand. Very similar to the way the Jawbone was packaged.

That's it for the static test. I'm going to test it out in the "real world" and where most of my use comes, in the car.